The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine’s Khersonska oblast on Tuesday has left at least 40 towns and villages partially flooded, which will likely have grave consequences for hundreds of thousands of people in southern Ukraine. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has described the destruction as a “monumental humanitarian, economic and environmental catastrophe”, resulting directly from Russia’s invasion of the country.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, which crosses the Dnipro River on the front line in Nova Kakhovka, has led to massive flooding, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee and impacting at least 40 towns and villages which have been reported fully or partially flooded.
The Ukrainian Government announced Tuesday the evacuation of some 16,000 people due to the loss or severe damage to their homes in the floods. People are being evacuated by buses and trains to Mykolaiv, and further to Odesa, Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned Tuesday that the flooding, which will likely impact around 80 settlements in the days ahead, gravely impacts access to basic services, including food and water, and will likely worsen an already fragile humanitarian situation, impacting hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the front line.
According to OCHA, assessments to determine the impact as well as assistance in areas currently under the occupation of the Russian Federation, however, have not been possible due to a lack of access for UN agencies and Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Humanitarian agencies say flooding can result in the movement of mines and explosive ordnance to the areas previously assessed as safe, putting thousands more people in danger in an area already impacted by explosives. At least 30 percent of Ukraine’s territory is mine-contaminated, according to Ukrainian authorities, with Khersonska oblast being the most affected.
Kakhovka Reservoir, which was formed by the Kakhovka Dam and stretches 240 kilometers through Zaporizka, Dnipropetrovska and Khersonska oblasts, is one of the largest water sources in the south of the country. The reservoir provides water supply, including drinking water, to major industrial cities, home to nearly 700,000 people.
Additionally, any uncontrolled decrease in the water level of Kakhovka Reservoir may negatively affect the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is closely monitoring the situation at Zaporizhzhia and has reported so far no immediate threat.
Aid organizations have rapidly mobilized emergency humanitarian response to provide urgent assistance to over 16,000 people affected by the flooding. According to OCHA, humanitarian teams were immediately deployed to train and bus stations across areas under Ukrainian control in Khersonska oblast, in Mykolaiv city and other areas to support civilians, including thousands of evacuated children.
Aid organizations are providing food, water, cash assistance, legal support and psychological assistance to people arriving from affected areas. Further assessments of the situation and emergency response are ongoing.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) has warned the UN Security Council Tuesday that the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine.
“The sheer magnitude of the catastrophe will only become fully realized in the coming days, but it is already clear that it will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine – on both sides of the front line – through the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods”, Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said.
He called the destruction “the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”, as he updated the 15-member organ. Griffiths stressed that immediate humanitarian needs are expected to rise as floodwaters move.
“Today’s news means the plight of people in Ukraine is set to get even worse than the pictures that we saw then. Immediate humanitarian needs are expected to grow as floodwaters move over the coming days, and as assessments of the situation and the response continue”, the Emergency Relief Coordinator said.
While the United Nations has no access to independent information on the circumstances leading to the dam’s destruction, international law is nevertheless very clear: installations containing dangerous forces must receive special protection precisely because of their destruction’s impacts on civilian populations.
“Constant care must be taken thus to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout all types of military operations”, Griffiths underlined.
The rules of international humanitarian law explicitly protect dams, due to the dangers their destruction poses to civilians. Russia controls the dam itself and the left bank of the Dnipro River, while Ukraine holds the right bank. The Russian Federation and Ukraine have mutually blamed each other for the destruction of the dam located east of Kherson.
Reaching all those who have been affected will not be easy nor straightforward, Griffiths said.
“The people of Ukraine have shown incredible resilience. Our urgent humanitarian task is to continue to help them to survive and to be safe and then to get a future. We will do so to the best of our ability”, he noted.
Further information
Full text: With Kherson Dam’s Destruction, Plight of Ukraine’s People Will Only Get Worse, Emergency Relief Coordinator Warns Security Council
https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/kherson-dams-destruction-plight-ukraines-people-will-only-get-worse-emergency-relief-coordinator-warns-security-council
Full text: Ukraine - Humanitarian Situation and Response Flash Update #1: Destruction of Kakhovka Dam (6 Jun 2023) [EN/UK] – Ukraine
https://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-humanitarian-situation-and-response-flash-update-1-destruction-kakhovka-dam-6-jun-2023-enuk